17 Blocks

Showings

Description

20 years in the making 17 BLOCKs is an intimate chronicle of a DC-based family’s struggles with addiction and gun violence, directed by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Davy Rothbart. In 1999, nine-year-old Emmanuel Sanford-Durant and his family began to film their daily lives in America’s most dangerous neighborhood — just 17 blocks behind the U.S. Capitol. They’ve been filming ever since.

Made in a unique collaboration with filmmaker and journalist Davy Rothbart, 17 BLOCKS focuses on Emmanuel, a promising student, his brother Smurf, a local drug dealer, his sister Denice, an aspiring cop, and his mother Cheryl, who must conquer her own demons for her family to prosper. Spanning two decades, 17 BLOCKS illuminates a nation’s ongoing crisis through one family’s raw, stirring, and deeply personal saga. -JM

"Unshakable!" —The New York Times

"Heartwarming... harrowing... packs a potent emotional punch."

—The HollywoodReporter

"Boyhood N' The Hood... packed with gritty realism. We marvel at the hidden powers of the powerless; how, when nearly broken, some people grow back stronger... And we're invited to celebrate the possibilities of change." — Screen International

"Deeply moving. A story of coming to terms with one's past and its repercussions on the future." —Flavorwire